Viral keratitis after the second and third doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination: A case report

ABSTRACT

Rare cases of viral keratitis after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination have been reported. Furthermore, to our knowledge, cases of viral keratitis after two rounds of COVID-19 vaccination have not yet been reported. We report the case of a 19-year-old man without a history of keratitis, who developed viral keratitis soon after receiving the second and third doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. Each time after the patient received treatment with topical and systemic drugs, his ocular symptoms were gradually relieved, and corrected visual acuity in both eyes returned to normal. COVID-19 vaccination may be associated with rare cases of the development of keratitis in individuals without a medical history of keratitis. Physicians should be aware of the possible relationship between ocular symptoms and adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination. Despite the potential risks of COVID-19 vaccination, the benefits of immunization against the virus far outweigh these risks.

KEYWORDS:

• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19 vaccination
• viral keratitis
• inactivated vaccine
• adverse reaction

Acknowledgments

We thank the patient for allowing us to share his details.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.